1989: ‘Ideological lie’ exposed in democracy’s paradoxical moment
No empire in history has disintegrated as quickly or as bloodlessly as the Soviet one, in the remarkable year that saw the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989…. Read more »
Ethiopia’s ethno-political mosaic showing fractures
Less than a month ago, Abiy Ahmed, prime minister of Ethiopia, won the Nobel Peace Prize. In Ethiopia, though, peace is in short supply, notes analyst David Pilling. In what… Read more »
Transatlantic strategy with ‘nascent’ EU will counter autocrats & democratic backsliding
With the world witnessing an autocratic resurgence, the United States needs a strong and united European partner now more than at any time since the end of the Cold… Read more »
Arab Spring 2.0? Understanding the New Wave of Protests
A new wave of protests and demonstrations has erupted across the Middle East and North Africa over the past 9 months, the Wilson Center’s Middle East Program observes. In… Read more »
When foreign meddling backfires, can democrats advance?
The authoritarian resurgence threatens to bring back the great power competition that caused so much destruction during the first half of the 20th century, argues Mathew J. Burrows, director of… Read more »
Liberal democracy’s 1989 promise ‘a squandered opportunity’
Two great earthquakes shaped the present global order. The first, in 1989, seemed to promise an irresistible march towards liberal democracy and open markets. The opportunity was squandered by those… Read more »
Russia’s New Ideocracy vs. liberal democracy
“Putinism” has long been a hot topic in the West, where the term – describing the policies and practices of Russian President Vladimir Putin – is generally met with… Read more »
Democracy under threat in post-Wall Europe: Spirit of 1989 fighting back
The west’s mistake after 1989 was not that we celebrated what happened in central Europe – and subsequently in the Baltic republics and the former Soviet Union – as a… Read more »
Two lessons from belated recognition of Armenian ‘Thirty-Year Genocide’
Is “Never Again” just a slogan or a genuine call to action; could genocide happen again, and where? ask Bernard-Henri Lévy and Thomas S. Kaplan, co-founders of Justice for Kurds… Read more »
Hybrid threat: Illiberal non-state actors clamping down on civic activism
1989 marked the end not of history as such, but of a specific chapter in history. Western liberal democracy, which Francis Fukuyama predicted would enjoy eternal supremacy after 1989, now faces an increasingly… Read more »